The answer to that
question depends of the age of the salamander. How younger the salamander, how
smaller the food. In most of the cases the larf eats his own eggchell and lives
the first week of micro-organisms called 'infuus' that lives in water what is
already in culture (pond water). After a week the larf starts eating small
animals, such as little daphnids or cyclopsen. After two weeks they like larger
daphnids and after three or four weeks they are large enough for tubifex or
red mosquito larvae.
After six up to eight weeks they eat the same as the adult animals, only smaller
formats.

Adult salamanders at the
water stage eat also the aforesaid food animals completed with rainworms,
maggots, and
mysis.

Adult salamanders at the
country stage eat almost everything what crawls and smaller is than themselves,
like
fruit flies,
spiders, rainworms,
maggots,
springtails,
flour maggots and buffaloworms. Also you can offer them
red mosquito larvae
on a wet tissue.

Housing:

Concerning the housing of a
salamander is much to tell. A salamander is not the easiest animal yo keep. The
size of the aquarium/terrarium, the lighting, the temperature, the air humidity
degree and the country/water proportion all play a role at succeeding your
hobby. By salamander type these factors can be very different and therefore
essential information is required for the success.

Buying
salamanders:

At buying salamanders you are dependent of the
offer of the animal shops/garden centres. That offer consists for 95% of five
species, namely: the Axolotl,
the Spanish ribbed newt,
the Cynops OriŽntalis, the Paramesotriton Hongkongensis and the
Pachytriton Labiatum, of which the last three types are sold frequently
as Chinese redbelly's. These are practical always caught in the wild in Asia,
and live from the moment that they are caught up to the moment that they end up
in the animal shop under piteous circumstances. Frequently more dead than living
they reach your livingroom and that is a bad start for your new salamander
adventure.

My advise is:

search for information about
the housing for each salamander type. There are a lot of salamander websites
with much information on specific types. Also you can ask questions on
forums and newsgroups.

Check
your purchase!A healthy salamander will always turn
immediately, after you have laid him on its back. When he
doesn't do that, he is not healthy. Look also to asperities on
its skin. Does he have strange white spots? Does he still have all
its toes? Does the salamander react alert? Look to the
complete condition of the salamander.

If you intend to buy
salamanders, I advise to surf on internet first. By dozens of breeders in
the Netherlands and Belgium there are raised firstclass newts. These animals
are in general much healthier than newts who are caught in the wild. Also in
moral perspective these breeded newts are prefered above the animals that
are caught in the wild.